We report in situ atmospheric measurements of hydrofluorocarbon HFC-43-10mee (C5H2F10; 1,1,1,2,2,3,4,5,5,5-decafluoropentane) from seven observatories at various latitudes, together with measurements of archived air samples and recent Antarctic flask air samples. The global mean tropospheric abundance was 0.21 ± 0.05 ppt (parts per trillion, dry air mole fraction) in 2012, rising from 0.04 ± 0.03 ppt in 2000. We combine the measurements with a model and an inverse method to estimate rising global emissions—from 0.43 ± 0.34 Gg yr-1 in 2000 to 1.13 ± 0.31 Gg yr-1 in 2012 (~1.9 Tg CO2-eq yr-1 based on a 100 year global warming potential of 1660). HFC-43-10mee—a cleaning solvent used in the electronics industry—is currently a minor contributor to global radiative forcing relative to total HFCs; however, our calculated emissions highlight a significant difference from the available reported figures and projected estimates.
HFC-43-10mee atmospheric abundances and global emission estimates
Arnold, T., D.J. Ivy, C.M. Harth, M.K. Vollmer, J. Mühle, P.K. Salameh, L.P. Steele, P.B. Krummel, R.H.J. Wang, D. Young, C.R. Lunder, O. Hermansen, T.S. Rhee, J. Kim, S. Reimann, S. O’Doherty, P.J. Fraser, P.G. Simmonds, R.G. Prinn, and R. Weiss (2014), HFC-43-10mee atmospheric abundances and global emission estimates, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 2228-2235, doi:10.1002/2013GL059143.
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